Conventional systems and integrated circuit devices can include a mix of analog functions and digital processing. In some systems-on-chip devices, a successive approximation register type digital-to-analog converter (SARDAC) can be included with a central processing unit (CPU). The CPU can configure the SARDAC and then receive conversion values from the SARDAC. If needed, the CPU can re-configure the SARDAC as needed.
Such conventional devices can have limits in performance, particularly in cases where a high sample frequency is required. In such applications, SARDAC control can consume a large amount of CPU resources. Consequently, the ability of the CPU to perform other tasks is reduced, the response latency can increase, and power consumption can be high. At high enough frequencies, a CPU load can be so high that it can no longer complete primary tasks. In addition, configuring a device to respond to such high frequencies can require a more complex configuration/operating code (i.e., firmware), requiring additional memory resources.